The Summer Before
by Ayshna
Summary: What would happen if Will Vandom had moved in the summer?
1. A Run In

Will Vandom's auburn hair blew in the cool, but infrequent, summer breeze. Sitting in a plastic lawn chair, she sipped on a glass of cold pink lemonade. _So this is Hetherfield... _she thought,_ Not too bad. I guess I could get used to this. _Taking off her red-rimmed sunglasses, she decided to, for the thousandth time, count the days until her first day of school at the Sheffield Institute. _What a weird name for a school..._ But her body refused to function with her thoughts. She was too relaxed to count again! Well, it was only July 28th, so there was a long time to wait. Though nervous, Will anticipated the arrival of that day, the day when she could finally meet some new friends. Gathering her things from the freshly cut lawn, she headed inside. An air conditioner's cold blast greeted her as she walked in. The humidity outside seemed deadly and the small breezes that were incredibly rare weren't enough.

She was also welcomed by her mother's chipper voice, "Hey, sweetie! Coming in already? But it's such a nice day! The sun is shining! The birds are singing…" _Yeah, the scorching sun that fried the birds into singing their last songs... _She gloomily thought. The downside of Hetherfield was that since they had moved, Will and her mother had been fighting worse than starved dogs over a T-bone. They didn't agree on anything. Ignoring her mother, Will flew up the stairs and flopped down onto her stuffed frog-covered bed. She gazed at the amazing array of the green cuties that covered her shelves, walls, and basically everything.

Smiling at her work, she then frowned at the many unpacked boxes. "Uh oh. Mom'll force me to unpack them if she sees them," she thought aloud. Thinking of how to leave the house non-suspiciously, she decided on "going to look for new friends around town." Unknown to the girl, though, she'd find a very special friend that day. Putting her sunglasses that she'd carried in with her back on, she headed back down the steps. Avoiding her mom, she simply called out, "'Bye, Mom! I'm going to find some friends in this weird town!"

As she ran out the door she heard her mom call back, "Ok, honey! Have fun!" Outside again, she inhaled the fresh air. Energy pulsed through her whole body, pulling her away from the house. _That's strange_, she thought. But brushing it off as "new town jitters," she walked to her gravel driveway. First she turned right out of the driveway onto a seemingly newer sidewalk. As she walked, she looked at the people walking the sidewalks around her. There were few people out this time of day. But there was one that caught her eye. Her eyes locked on a boy. A _cute _boy. He looked older than Will, with lightly curled brown hair. But as she stared at this cutie she wished to meet, she ran straight into a girl…


	2. A New Friend

Will was thrown back and landed on the hard sidewalk with a thud. "Ah!" the startled girl yelled as she, too, was forced to the ground. Will rubbed her now throbbing head. She tried to stand and luckily succeeded.

"I'm SO sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and-"

"It's ok! I'm fine! I see you were watching someone else though. Possibly the cutie across the street…?"

"What? No….Why would I be looking over there? I mean…" Will tried to respond, but only babbled. She was never too good at lying. She felt her cheeks turn bright red.

"It's ok. Everyone likes him. Well, except me. But that's just me. His name's Matt Olsen... So, are you alright? If not, my house is only a few blocks away. By the way, my name is Taranee. Taranee Cook. What's yours?"

It took Will a moment to respond. She mentally checked herself over to see if she needed medical attention, or just an ice pack. "I think I just need ice for my head, but my house is right down there." Will pointed to the house four houses back. "My name's Will Vandom. I'm new here."

Taranee gave Will a friendly smile. "Wow. Another newbie. I moved here only a week or two ago."

"Newbie…?" Will said confused.

"That's what they call us for about two weeks. Then, they finally upgrade to your name." Taranee sort of giggled, which made her glasses fall. She pushed her spectacles back up, hoping not to look like a geek. "Hey, why don't you see if you can come to my house? I mean if you're not busy. I have all of my friends over! This way you can meet them!" Taranee hopefully asked Will.

Will thought a minute, then said, "Hold on, I'll ask my mom. You want to come in?"

Taranee shook her head. "I have to get some cookies at the gas station up there. I'll come back to your house when I'm done, then we can walk up together."

"Okay!" Will said. They waved and went their separate ways. Will ran in her house so fast, her mom jumped. Will quickly asked (well, begged) to go over to Taranee's house. Finally her mom said yes. Running out, she yelled thank you, then waited for Taranee.


End file.
